CNET First Look

The Surface Go shrinks Microsoft's iconic tablet

Smaller and less expensive, this new Surface tablet takes aim at Chromebooks and budget laptops.

1:32 / 10 July 2018

Transcript

It's smaller, more portable, and less expensive.
But it's also less powerful and drives up the total cost by excluding must-have extra accessories.
I'm talking about the new Surface Go from Microsoft, which starts at an impressive $399, putting it right in Chromebook territory.
It's got a smaller tendency display, making it feel a bit like an iPod.
It also swaps the core I series Intel CPU's for lower and Pentium processors.
It definite step down and process in power but th potential silver lining is that for most of what people do on their PC's today they're may not be much of an experiential difference If all this sounds slightly familiar, that's because back in 2015 Microsoft tried a similar tactic with the Surface 3, a low cost spinoff of the Surface Pro 3.
It was actually pretty good but never really made a big splash.
During a hands on demo session, the new Surface Go felt like it hit a good sweet spot between design and functionality.
The smaller body was perfect for carrying around and yes it finally has a USB sea port.
Here's the bad news.
While Microsoft has crafted a perfectly scaled version of it's excellent keyboard cover it's somehow still not included in the box.
The keyboards starts at $99 more for color versions And the surface pen stylus is also $99.
That means making this a full two in one PC can drive the price up by 50%.
[SOUND]

Coming up next

A combination laptop-tablet for under $300

The Acer Swift 7 takes bragging rights as "world's thinnest laptop"

Digital Storm's Equinox puts big gaming performance in a thin...

Asus' cheap Tuf Gaming FX504 laptop is just enough

Microsoft Surface Go goes with you anywhere

The Asus Scar II has a great screen for gaming, but the design...

Almost everything inside the new MacBook Pro is new and improved

Acer's Nitro 5 is a budget-friendly gamer that just makes the...

Samsung's Chromebook Plus V2 is premium without the big price

Lenovo gets a whole new look for its Legion gaming laptops and...

Latest Laptops videos

A combination laptop-tablet for under $300

1:2711 August 2018

The Lenovo Flex 11 delivers the basics, dirt cheap

Play video

The Acer Swift 7 takes bragging rights as "world's thinnest laptop"

1:3510 August 2018

Even at just 8.98mm thick, this laptop includes a 14-inch touchscreen and backlit keyboard.

Play video

Digital Storm's Equinox puts big gaming performance in a thin body

1:195 August 2018

Packing an Nvidia GTX 1070 Max Q GPU and an Intel hexa-core processor puts out a lot of performance (and a good deal of heat, too).

Play video

Unboxing the Microsoft Surface Go

3:053 August 2018

The latest Surface 2-in-1 packs a lot into a small package.

Play video

Asus' cheap Tuf Gaming FX504 laptop is just enough

1:183 August 2018

A durable keyboard and decent gaming specs will get through a battle royale, but there are better entry-level options.

Play video

Microsoft Surface Go goes with you anywhere

1:192 August 2018

The new smaller Surface is portable and less expensive, but be ready to pay for extras.

Play video

Apple promises to fix MacBook Pro CPU throttling bug

2:3525 July 2018

After seeing new MacBook Pro laptops struggle with some high-end tasks, Apple has identified a software bug and published a fix.

Play video

The Asus Scar II has a great screen for gaming, but the design is a yawn

1:4920 July 2018

It's a hefty investment, but has a great CPU/GPU combo, thin display bezel and lots of storage.